Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Jamnagar:Home of Sea and Shore Birds

Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary,Jamnagar:Home of Sea and Shore Birds
Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary,Jamnagar:Home of Sea and Shore Birds 

Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, Jamnagar: Home of Sea and Shore Birds

Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary, the largest bird sanctuary in Gujarat is just 12 km away from the main city of Jamnagar . It was officially declared a sanctuary on 6^th November, 1982 (May, 1981 according to some reports). There was no way we could miss the sanctuary because a huge signboard beckoned us, “Welcome to Bird Sanctuary Khijadiya Jamnagar”. We knew we were approaching a bird territory even before we had reached it. We suddenly heard strange whistling sounds and I began to think, “Is a car backing? I wonder why car manufacturers do not make more such backing horns to stop noise pollution!” Then we saw white birds sitting on the pebbly rivulet and we realized this was the source for those anti-noise pollutants.

Khijadiya is a distinctive man-made wetland in the northeast coastal region of Jamnagar district, which is itself situated in a semi-arid biographic zone in India. The best time to visit this sanctuary is from October to March. The timings are 6:30 am to 6.00 pm.                                                                                                                                                        

We passed through Khijadiya village and we noticed the world’s tallest bird, the sarus crane standing in a puddle. Small village children played nearby but nobody was disturbing the bird and the crane looked relaxed too. We reached the office and paid the car fee of rupees 250 and camera fee of rupees 100.The gentleman at the office was very knowledgeable .He took us to an Interpretation Center which is a storehouse of knowledge. Large boards full of information adorned the walls. The center educates tourists on the various species of resident and migratory birds that visit the sanctuary. There are different models of birds erected in it, complete with nests and trees. It is advisable to carry drinking water because when we visited the sanctuary, we only saw lakes, birds, greenery and nothing else. This was in December, 2010.

Marshland

There are abundant birds in this sanctuary because it is situated at 70 degree -7`-17”east longitude and 22 degree -31`-27” west latitude, a conducive breeding and wintering ground for migrating birds. It is located along the Indus flyway, one of the world’s major routes for migratory birds, stretching from Siberia to the Indus valley delta in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan, with a small portion in western India’s Kutch. It is also close to the Gulf of Kutch, a central Asian flyway route, which is an important migration path of water birds covering Indian subcontinent, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Lake and Inland Vegetation Hosting a Lonely Snowy Egret

The sanctuary is 6.05 square km in length. On its one side is the sea and on the other side is fresh water which makes it a unique coastal as well as freshwater wetland. There are two embankments /bunds created to prevent saline water to flow into the mainland and to stop fresh water draining into the sea. These bunds were constructed by the royal family of Jamnagar before independence, in the 1920s and 30s, which has led to the formation of two fresh water lakes.

Embankment Separating the Sea and the Freshwater

 The bunds help to prevent the seepage of salty water into the soil and to store freshwater in lakes drained from Ruparel and Kalindri rivers. The bunds are constructed with a slope so that when the  lakes overflow with rain water or surplus water from the rivers, then the excess water flows into the Gulf of Kutch (north-eastern arm of Arabian Sea) through the creeks on the other side of the embankments. Healthy, marine vegetation like marshes, salt pans and mangroves grow in these creeks. There are also various types of inland vegetation such as prosopis juliflora, forest scrub, deshi babul, pilu and others. Sedges and tall grass grow on the small islands in the lakes. Geographical features like mudflats, marshy land and sandy beaches are found in the sanctuary. Farmlands border the area.

A View of the Lake

Small Islands of Tall Grass

Garganey Ducks near Sedge Bushland

Sandy Beach

Prosopis vegetation

Mangroves

Since it is a rare complex of saltwater-freshwater wetland so there is a variety of habitats and ecosystem. It provides conducive ‘breeding, feeding, roosting and staging grounds’ for diverse marine and freshwater species of birds during various seasons of the year. Hence, more than 250 to 300 species of birds congregate here, including the globally threatened Dalmatian pelican, Asian open bill stork, black-headed ibis, Eurasian spoonbill, Indian skimmer, painted stork and crab plover.  Black-necked storks which are not found anywhere in India are seen here in abundance. Freshwater birds such as herons, grebes etc. are found here. Brahminy kite, grey francolin, Indian spotted eagle, pheasant-tailed jacana, common greenshank, garganey, common teal, comb duck, Indian pond heron, demoiselle crane are sighted in this sanctuary. In 1984, Salim Ali, the legendary Indian ornithologist and naturalist spotted 104 species of birds on a single day here.

A Solitary Black Heron

Lesser Flamingos

Great Egret or Great White Heron

Rosy Pelicans near Mudflats

Dalmatian Pelicans: An Endangered Species and a Painted Stork in Flight

This distinctive wetland attracts a large number of birds to nest in the winter season of the year. There are different types of nests —nests on trees, nests on the ground and nests on the water (floating nests). Many varieties of ducks make floating nests. 

There are two watch towers on the eastern and northern parts. We came from the main road and turned right. The murram road narrows considerably and on the left side is a huge lake. Brahminy ducks were near the shore but at the sound of the Sumo they flew away and hid under the water. I waited in vain to see them resurface because I could clearly hear their quacking. But they refused to come up. As we were leaving, we saw the birds paddling ferociously yet gracefully—power with poise.

Brahminy Ducks

The lake narrowed into a stream and in this stream, on a skeletal, forked wood sat 2 Cormorants: black with yellow eyes, one of them stuck out its chest and stood upright. Another dried its wings.

 Cormorants and Black-necked Ibis (at the distance)

The sanctuary plays host to birds who prefer marine, freshwater or both kinds of habitats as there is a freshwater environment on one side of the bund and a marine environment on the other. The birds get both types of food—freshwater and saltwater. The pelican on the side of the sea gets its food from the salt pan.  Cranes, hornbill, quail get their food from the crop field. There is an unmistakable food chain. The fresh water breeds lush vegetation and plankton. Fish and insects feed on them. Birds feed on these fish and insects.

Murram Pathways

Then we came to another narrow road which is sort of an uphill climb. The water below had dried up recently because the mud was still wet. From here we could see the tail of a lake where a lonely, large pelican looking like a small, white boat was floating in the water.

A Pelican near Salt Pan

But what’s this? From the mud dam we could see a gleaming, white, circular island of huge, Casablanca lilies. Everything was very silent. Only a faint, unseen, gurgling sound was coming from somewhere. It was a perfect, suspenseful setting for Alfred Hitchcock’s movie ‘Birds’. We walked very slowly towards the small, white island  through the walking tracks, crossed the shrub forests, came closer to the lake and we were astounded at reality. A large group of uniform white storks with protruding backs, hunched their heads in a huddle, as if they were mourning or meditating or perhaps waiting for their kill.

Lily-like snowy Island of  White Storks

 

They continued to be in a huddle and it seemed an eternity. We could not wait so long as we had other things to watch. We climbed up a watchtower and saw a view of another lake where mallard ducks were making the afternoon-shadow on the water blacker, with their shiny black coat. Amidst the huge water bodies are small islands complete with trees and shrubs or a single tree. In some places the shadow of the tree was shaping the water with its blackish rondure.

Island with Pilu and Deshi Babul Trees

Then we came back to the lily-like island and there was a slight movement in the mass of white. A white stork flew away and we could see its large, orange beak and webbed feet. Another flew away, then another until there were only a few left, holding the fort. Did we disturb them? It seemed as if the young had flown away leaving the old and infirm behind. No country for old birds.

Nilgais (antelopes), wolves, mongoose, jackals, rabbits, jungle cats and a few varieties of snakes are also found in Khijadiya bird sanctuary but we did not see any of them.

 When we went in 2010, in December, we were the only visitors there along with our driver. The setting was peaceful. The guide forbade our Sumo to go to all places because the roosting and nesting of birds might be disturbed.

But according to some reports, in 2016 there was a drastic fall in the number of migratory birds .This decline is attributed to the construction and development activities inside the sanctuary causing large stretches of vegetation to be cut down. Lots of benches are placed near water bodies so that visitors can watch birds; completely heedless of the fact that such close proximity of humans might disturb the birds. Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary has now become a ‘tourist spot’ or ‘public park’ wherein  visitors talk loudly, burst firecrackers when there is a marriage party. But hopefully all efforts are being made by nature lovers, bird enthusiasts, ornithologists to preserve this exceptional freshwater-saltwater sanctuary and stop its despoilment.

You can combine a visit to the sanctuary and a pilgrimage because the ancient, holy city ,Dwarka is just 148 km away and Nageshwar Jyotirling is 16 km  away from Dwarka. Jamnagar is connected by road through private, luxury buses and state transport buses to all important cities from Gujarat especially Ahmedabad and Vadodara. There are daily trains on the western railway with direct connections to Ahmedabad. Various domestic flights connect Jamnagar to Mumbai and Jamnagar airport is just 10 km away from the main city.

Jamnagar Refinery, a crude oil refinery owned by Reliance Industries Limited is in Moti Khavdi which is just  58 km from Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary (1 hour 19 minutes via NH 947) . It is the largest refinery in the world and located so close to a functioning coastal ecosystem is abundant proof that nothing is impossible. Environment and Economy can coexist harmoniously. There can be a symbiosis between  commerce, cash and undisturbed natural habitat.

Higher still and higher
From the earth thou springest
Like a cloud of fire;
The blue deep thou wingest,
And singing still dost soar, 
and soaring ever singest.
(P.B. Shelley)

                                                                                                  Photographs: Bulbul Sur

Tags: Salt pan, Mangrove, Murram Pathways, Moti Khavdi, Dwarka, Prosopis